EDMONTON, AB. - Even though the Red Sox are always sold out, there's an empty space at Fenway Park since Massachusetts native Carly Strasser began researching aquatic invasive species north of the 49th parallel. Fortunately, there is no border to Red Sox Nation and she can indulge her love for the game as much as she does her passion for research.

While with CAISN, Carly divided her time between the University of Alberta and  Dalhousie University.  "At each insitution," she says, "I was lucky enough to work with leaders in the field of AIS, Mark Lewis (University of Alberta) and Claudi DiBacco (Dalhousie/Bedford Institute of Oceanography)."  WIth their help and the financial support of CAISN, Carly was able to travel between the two schools, and as far west as Vancouver,  to conduct her research.

"My investigations dealt with invasive copepods," explains Carly. "We were trying to determine the impact of temperature and salinity on establishment. One species has been in our waters for almost a century; others as a little as only twenty years. Though there were differences between species, another goal was to determine their commonalities, especially how they got here and why they successfully established here."

During the months spent conducting her research Carly relied heavily on CAISN and gives the network praise for its support. "Without CAISN,  I would not have been able to spend time in both Halifax and Edmonton, and I wouldn't have had the opportunity to go to Vancouver where the bulk of my field and experimental work took place," she emphasizes.  

Looking back, Carly believes that CAISN's greatest strength is the depth of experience and scope of knowledge you can only find in a working network. "The availability of so many scientists who are experts in AIS was amazing!" she exclaims. "The annual general meetings provided an opportunity to see first hand how many people were working on projects similar to mine. We shared our experience and made giant leaps in our research."

Now working at the University of Alberta as postdoctoral investigator, Carly continues to keep in contact with many of her CAISN colleagues and is a supporter for the launch of new network. After all, discovery is  about more than just great research. Sometimes it requires great relationships as well.  CAISN's success, Carly believes, comes from the fact that it has both.